Asia: Charities, Civil Society Discuss Security, Peace

More than 3,000 delegates are meeting in the Chinese capital, Beijing, for a two-day forum.

The Second Non-governmental Forum of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia (CICA), opened in the Chinese capital, Beijing, on June 28, 2017. The two-day event, attended by over 3,000 delegates from Asia, is discussing the region’s security challenges on the topic “25 years of CICA for Asian security and development.” Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message of congratulations to participants.

The conference is hosted by the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs and organised jointly by the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Organisers say the objective is to build a network for people-to-people exchanges to spread CICA’s security concept and lay a solid social foundation for promoting regional security governance. Chen Yuan, Vice Chair of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, who is chair of the meeting, addressed participants at the opening.

He said CICA has since become an important force for regional and world security. “CICA has grown in the past 25 years from 16 to 26 States. Member States must ensure mutual respect for territorial integrity, peaceful resolution of disputes and more trust amongst themselves,” Chen Yuan counseled. He proposed comprehensive, cooperative security strategies, respect of international law and peaceful co-existence. According to Yuan, members need to pursue common development, foster community of shared future, address bo...